The scope of our lab research is to understand the communication between the gut microbiome and lung tissues, and how the components of the gut microbiome may directly influence lung immune and inflammatory responses. We focus on the effects of specific metabolites, namely, short-chain fatty acids. Short-chain fatty acids such as, acetate, propionate, and butyrate have been implicated as having roles in influencing diverse disease processes in experimental mice.
These include lipid metabolism in type 2 diabetes, polychondritis, pathological bone loss, allergic asthma, and blood-brain barrier permeability. The measurement of short-chain fatty acid concentrations is most convenient in fecal pellets expelled from the mice. However, these fecal short-chain fatty acid levels do not reliably correspond to what is present in vivo, in the colon, and more importantly, what is transmitted into the host circulation.
We believe that the levels of short-chain fatty acids and other metabolites measured within the portal blood will more accurately reflect the steady state in vivo concentrations compared to those measured from fecal samples. Ligating the portal vein near the hepatic hilum can expand the dimensions of the portal vein, and thereby significantly improve the success rate, as well as increase the maximum blood volume that can be collected.
